Give him the cup

A typical argument given by an country for being chosen to host a Football (Soccer) World Cup would be ‘We love Footie!’ or ‘It’s been a long time’ or ‘Tourism has been really down these days.’

Here’s Obama’s argument for USA hosting the 2018/ 2022 WC:

As a child, I played soccer on a dirt road in Jakarta, and the game brought the children of my neighbourhood together. As a father, I saw that same spirit of unity alive on the fields and sidelines of my own daughters’ soccer games in Chicago. Soccer is truly the world’s sport, and the World Cup promotes camaraderie and friendly competition across the globe. That is why this bid is about much more than a game. It is about the United States of America inviting the world to gather all across our great country in celebration of our common hopes and dreams

An American who’s a fan of football (I refuse to call it soccer anymore) is a rarity anyway – and one who supports West Ham United, rarer than that. Given their troubles in wake of the Icelandic economic crisis, I totally sympathize with the Hammers, having had to suffer some heartburn over that particular topic myself. (The Icelandic meltdown, as obvious a pun as there can be, was what inspired this post).

As long as he doesn’t insist that all nations must only field those players who play for American clubs, I say Give Him The Cup!!